I think it was maybe 2010 when I lost my alto saxophone.  It was a grey Sunday morning and I was on the phone getting out of a cab in the East Village with my then girlfriend/now wife Jamia.  As the cab sped away she asked me “Trav where’s your saxophone?” and I realized that I left my treasured Selmer Paris Super Action 80 Serie 2 Alto Saxophone in the back of the taxi.  I ran after it trying to get the driver’s attention, but he either didn’t see me, or ignored my as he made a left hand turn a couple of blocks away.  And that was that.  I walked back to the corner of where the cab had dropped us off, which is where we were meeting some friends as well, and I’m in this very completely stunned mode trying to process what had just happened.  At that moment Henry Threadgill is walking by us on the sidewalk.  He lived near my wife’s apartment and I had said hello to him a couple of times.  So I say when I see him “Hi Henry, I just lost my saxophone.”  He stayed and talked with me for a few minutes and told me a story about how he lost his sax when he first moved to NYC.  Unfortunately I never found the sax, and it wasn’t insured (that was actually the first question Threadgill asked me, if I had insurance).

The only reason why I’m inspired to write about this is because I’m currently reading and inspired by Henry Threadgill’s memoir “Easily Slip Into Another World A Life in Music.”  I’m learning a whole ton about the AACM and the Art of Ensemble of Chicago, and Sun Ra’s early years.  It’s also hipping me to some recordings – Roscoe Mitchell’s “Sounds” holy moley! And it is super inspiring to hear his story in general.

Here’s some Henry Threadgill: